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Saturday, February 22, 2014

Apotheosis in Caracas El Marques

Some want picture? Here a couple fresh from Twitter plus a surprise bonus.

The one at El Marques in Caracas is one for the history books. One "close up" and one long range view. You need to imagine the 5th Avenue or the Champs Elysées filled up to have a comparison..... Sometime between noon and 1 PM. Never, ever was a Chavez rally be able to come close to half of it.

The special bonus is one of the first pictures of Yulia Tymoshenko in a plane to Kiev, just freed from jail. The government of Ukraine is collapsing today, there is no reason not to hope that sooner or later the chavista dictatorship will also fall and our own political prisoners will be freed. Hang in there Leopoldo!

You should see the mansions these PSUV Kleptocrats are buying in Florida...Chavez's daughters bought lavish condos near Orlando and super-quintas in Kendall...what work did they do to earn so many millions? And Diosdado and Wilmer?

Nobody likes to admit it but no matter how big a rally is we know that rallys do not force the change the oposition wants. Behind the scenes there better be groups that maintain the fight a bit "hotter", that forces the radicals in the goverment and public forces to make more mistakes...with enough goverment mistakes change may eventually happen.

Daniel, what would it take in your estimation for the military to turn? I can never wrap my head around the censorship. Does the one half of the country, the dirty chavista half, think the media is normal or is it more of the end justifies the means type of thing?

There are reports that the military and police are supplemented by Cuban military. The top officers are paid off and involved with the drug cartel. I doubt that they will turn and support the people.

The local Venezuelan media is paid off or forced to show pro govermment talking points.

Most of the Chavistas do not know any better because before Chavez they were ignored for 40 years. Ignorance plays a big role. The poor are then spoon fed the government line everyday. they become institutionalized.

Unfortunately blood is the only way. Historically protests alone do not change governments.

I believe they can work somwhat...but we can never expect things to be perfect, nor should we automatically discard the possibility that violence has to be used.

The key is to stay in reality and use the tactic that is needed at the moment.

Someone on another blog just said:"Violence always generates violence" And he claims that is why the opposition should always be passive.

My reply was:

It is not necessarily true in all cases that violence generates violence: if it were always true then it would be impossible to have peaceful demonstrations when the Tupamaros are shooting at an unarmed population

I think in Venezuela's case, the fact that the country is divided pretty much in the middle between clases (and ideologies) diminishes themeffectiveness off the non-violent protest.

Everytime there is a non-violent demonstration from the oposition, the goverment responds wth its well organized political force in another non-violent demonstration (Rallys vs rally); Venezuela has been in this game for some 15 years, one must wonder wether the protest has not lastedlong enough or the protest must also involve a good portion of "el pueblo" to become more effective. Personally I think is a combination of both.

Find a leader in the opposition that truly touches el pueblo, that makes them feel secured and listened to, find the one that guarantees the poor their misiones will continue and improve and them wew ill be in the road of real change, till then risk watching these rallys as we have since for the last 15 years, or be ready for violence to increase.

It breaks my heart everytime I see a young Venezuelan wounded or killed simply for displaying a dissenting opinion. At the same time, every day in Venezuela is a new bloodbath, and the 25,000 that lost their lives violently last year must be mourned as well. So yes, unfortunately people have been hurt and killed during this process, but these heroes will hopefully force change that will save the lives of thousands of people in the years to come. The unthinkable would be for these students to have given their lives in vain. This must be seen through to the end.

He's baiting Obama to make an appearance of liability for the situation. I fear Obama will take the bait to look "statement-like" and the people who are playing the tinfoil hat conspiracy theories will cash in on the victories.

I can understand the confusion, both were equally crowded. But Lopez was at Chacaito and this one is at EL Marques, 2 miles away at least. Though you need probably to be a Caracas native like me to catch it immediately.

The protests do have a nonviolent priority, and it has generated the typical PSUV/Cuban response. Political means simply will not be adequate- these chotas know that game. A secondary objective is needed...the range of options can be found in Ukraine, Iraq (where will Maduro's spider hole be?), Michael Collin's/Tom Barry's Ireland, Libya, Gandhi's India (he never totally renounced violence, FYI). Ireland attempted nonviolence and political means for centuries, turning to armed means numerous times when the nonviolence only made things worse...

The elected president, Maduro, is here to stay until at least the next election whether some people like it or not. Any attempt to overthrow him would be seen by most in this hemisphere as a U.S. plot. That was assured by the failed coup against Chavez.Also, Venezuela is not Ukraine. Many in the U. S. and around the world support the elected Maduro government. With this worldwide support Maduro is in the catbird seat. When this is all over, one way or the other, the government will be in even more solid control until the next election and the opposition will be weakened further.

"With this worldwide support Maduro is in the catbird seat.". The guy who called for a recount, then changed his mind? The very few who think election there are legitimate are diullusional. Count yourself among those. No food on shelves, no toilet paper, highest crime rat ein the hemisphere, murder cap[ital of the world. You're right, hes got nothing to worry about. Unless of course people get sick of dying, starving and being cheated.

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